Does the colour of your hair really make a difference?

What does your hair colour really mean?

We all know about blonde jokes, and sure, they might make us laugh, but do we really believe them?

One woman said she had to die her hair brown to be taken seriously in her career. She said she lacked credibility because of her looks so when she went looking for another job she got out the hair dye first, reported Sydney Morning Herald.

“I knew that moving away from the blonde stereotype would help with my recruitment prospects and my salary negotiations,” the woman said. 

She’s not alone.

Other women have said the same, including the Silicon Valley CEO Eileen Carey who told the BBC she dyed her hair to be taken seriously too.

“The first time I dyed my hair was actually due to advice I was given by a woman in venture capital,” says Carey who is the CEO of the tech start-up Glassbreakers.

“Being a brunette helps me to look a bit older and I needed that, I felt, in order to be taken seriously,” Carey says.

Read more: Breast cancer risk may depend on how often women dye their hair.

But what about when your hair is neither brown or blonde? What about if it is grey?

During an unemployment workshop one person has reported they were told to colour their greying hair to prevent age discrimination. Unfortunately it seems to be a female issue, as males with a touch of grey, or all grey for that matter, are seen as distinguished and wise.

Sure age discrimination is illegal, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. People still make assumptions, and sadly, often the presumption is that grey hair means you are not to be taken seriously in the career world, let alone the rest of the world. 

Has discrimination ever happened to you purely on your hair colour?